Collection of Warriors OneShots
by Aryestelle
Summary: The home of the one-shots that I will be writing when I want to take a break from stories or need some inspiration. They will span across a variety of topics such as romance, murder, etc. and will include various characters and clans.


_Author's Note: So lately I was feeling a little less inspired to work on The Unknown Prophecy so I've decided that I'm going to start writing one-shots as well to help keep me motivated and allow me to write about some more exciting stuff as we still haven't gotten deep enough into the plot yet to have a lot of action or anything there. I might use characters and clans from the books for a few of these but mostly they'll be about made up characters and such because I can get a lot more creative then. There'll be a lot of different topics and whatnot, probably particularly the more fun stuff such as cat's deaths, battles, and evil kitties doing their evil stuffs. I must warn you that this first one here is bit devoid of action and kind of sappy though. I just started typing and this is what I came up with._

Cold wind berated the lone cat trekking across BlossomClan's territory. He moved with determination in each pawstep despite the harsh leafbare weather around him, his deep amber eyes fixated on the frozen river in the distance. He had to make it. For Mooncloud.

"I'm coming, my love," he murmured. "Nothing will keep me from you."

Despite his will, he found his strength fading as he padded onward until finally he collapsed into the snow. For a moment he lay still, a feeling of defeat washing over him as he began to doubt that he could get up again. But then in his mind he pictured his sweet mate, and forced himself to rise once more. His fur was covered in frost. His eyes stung from the chilling wind. His legs ached with exhaustion. But he would not stop.

Unbelievingly the elder managed to push himself further, and though his whole body screamed for him to give it up, he managed to reach his destination. Sitting by the frozen river, the brown tom looked down at the ice eagerly. Others may simply have seen his reflection. But when the elder looked down, he found himself looking at a beautiful silver tabby.

"Mooncloud," the tom greeted his mate with joy. "I was so afraid that I would not make it here tonight! I have, though, and I am glad to see you." As the she-cat offered no reply, her mate continued to speak. "I still miss you as much as the day you first went to StarClan! There is not a moment that you do not linger in my mind. Scarletclaw complains about that, of course, but such is only to be expected from someone like her I suppose. Anyways, though, I would like to make the most of my time with you now."

There was still no response from the tabby, but the elder didn't seem to mind. He simply laid down and peered into her bright blue eyes, losing himself in them for a while. After some time he found that he had begun to shiver violently, and felt perhaps colder than before, but the sight of Mooncloud kept him content. He allowed the cold to envelope him, even thinking that maybe it would take his breath away and he would join his love at last…

"Torntail!" came a sharp cry that snapped the elder back to awareness. He glanced behind him and saw two warriors running toward him through the snow. Turning his attention back to the river, he smiled as he saw that Mooncloud was still there. The two warriors arrived next to him shortly, however, causing his gaze to break away from the she-cat and turn to them. One was a gray tabby tom, Sootear, BlossomClan's deputy, while the other was a brown tabby she-cat, Branchpelt, Torntail's daughter.

"Why did you come out here?" Sootear asked the brown tom. His deep voice was calm and he seemed to be quite in control of himself. Branchpelt, on the other hand, seemed to be shaking, her green eyes fixing a glare on her father that seemed to be a mix of worry, anger, and frustration.

"I had to see Mooncloud," Torntail rasped simply.

Before Sootear could say anything else, Branchpelt snapped, "Why do you always say that as if it's completely sane? Don't you realize that you can't see her? That you're not actually looking at her in the river because it's not possible for her to be looking at you from the river? She's in StarClan, not this river!"

"I know she's in StarClan," Torntail growled. "But that doesn't mean that she can't visit me! Why wouldn't she visit me? Are you saying that she wouldn't?"

"I'm saying that she couldn't!" Branchpelt exclaimed. "Which is the truth! You're not a medicine cat and you're not a leader. And even if you were one of those things, she would never visit you in a river like this because that's not how it works! So why do you have to go and be a fool and come out here on a freezing leafbare night to look at the river and pretend that you can still be with her? You could die out here!"

"So what if I could die?" Torntail hissed. "What does it matter if I die? I'm an elder. I served my clan. I'm old and there's no reason for me not to die!"

"There is a reason!" Branchpelt cried, tears pooling in her eyes. "You're the only family I have left! And even if you spend all of your time obsessing over my dead mother, I need you. Because when you go there won't be anyone who cares a rat's tail about me."

Torntail was taken aback by his daughter's words. Sootear, meanwhile, placed his tail reassuringly on the she-cat's shoulder. "Your clanmates will still care about you, Branchpelt."

"Maybe a few," the brown tabby mewed sadly. "But it still won't be the same. Things won't ever be the same." She sighed, blinking the tears out of her eyes before turning to Torntail. "I just don't want to lose you."

"I know," the elder told her gently. "But someday it will be my time. And you'll need to be ready. I never was when your mother died."

* * *

His pelt had been growing mangier. His tail appeared perhaps even more torn. His voice had become weaker day by day. He kept expecting StarClan to call him when he fell asleep, but then he woke up and found himself still without his beloved mate. His heart ached with longing.

"I wonder if Mooncloud is watching over me now," he murmured one night as BlossomClan was settling down to sleep. Leafwhisker, a small brown tom, simply ignored Torntail. Scarletclaw, a dark ginger tabby she-cat, fixed him with an irritated glare.

"As many times as you say her name and talk about her I'm sure she can't stop watching you for fear that you might say something bad about her the moment she stops listening," the old she-cat grumbled.

Torntail ignored the cranky tabby and curled up in his nest. At that moment, however, Branchpelt padded into the den, her green eyes bright as she gazed at her father. "Brighthill says that I'm expecting Thornfur's kits!" the she-cat told him cheerfully.

"That's wonderful news," Torntail purred warmly. "You'll be a wonderful mother."

"Thanks," Branchpelt mewed. Peering at the elder for a moment she remarked, "You're looking quite shabby these days."

"Quite so," the brown tom agreed. "I keep thinking that I'll never wake up but then I do." Pausing, he stared at the she-cat for a moment and then mewed slowly, "I hope you're feeling a bit better about the idea now…"

There was sadness in Branchpelt's eyes, but she nodded. "I am. I hate the idea of it, but I'm ready for when it comes." Torntail nodded respectfully. Branchpelt mewed a goodbye to him and he watched his daughter leave the den, then curled up in his nest and laid his head down, preparing for whatever might come.

* * *

The night proved to be a restless one and the elder found that he couldn't quite get to sleep no matter what he thought of or how long he closed his eyes. Upon thinking of Mooncloud (when didn't he), the brown tom decided to go and visit her again. Everyone still told him that he was crazy and that she wasn't really there whenever he went. But he didn't care. She seemed to be there to him, and that was all that mattered.

Getting up, Torntail padded out of the elders' den and slipped out of the camp entrance, careful not to alert Russetfeather. The dark ginger she-cat was charged with guarding the camp that night. The journey to the river was fairly easy in the cool newleaf conditions, and he soon found himself padding the last of the way.

Upon his arrival, however, the tom found that there was no need for him to look down into the river, for right beside it was the she-cat, her starry pelt shining in the moonlight and her blue eyes glowing as she gazed at her mate. For a moment, all Torntail could do was simply stare at her, but at last he managed to get his tongue working. "Mooncloud."

The StarClan cat dipped her head to the elder. "Hello, my love. It is so good to see you once more. And now I shall no longer have to miss you. You have served BlossomClan well, and it is time for you to join your ancestors."

A smile of joy crossed the brown tom's face as he learned that he would be joining her at last. "Is this really a dream?" he asked.

Mooncloud nodded her head. "Yes, this is a dream, but you will not find yourself waking up in your nest again. I trust that you are ready to join me in StarClan?"

Torntail nearly cried out yes as he thought of being with her finally, but then the thought of Branchpelt crossed his mind. She would surely be heartbroken to see him lifeless in his nest. And her kits would never know him. "What about our daughter?"

Mooncloud brushed up against him reassuringly. "Branchpelt will surely miss you dearly, but she knows that you will always be watching her from the stars, as she has known of me. Once she could not accept the idea of losing you, but now she has taken a mate and has kits coming, and so no longer has such a great need of you and is ready. Are you?"

Torntail knew that his mate was right. Branchpelt was ready for his death, and now he must be as well. Gazing at the she-cat that he had missed for so many moons, the elder mewed confidently, "Ready."


End file.
